International NGO Journal Vol. 3 (7), pp. 128-129, July 2008 Available online at http:// www.academicjournals.org/INGOJ ISSN 1993–8225 © 2008 Academic Journals
Case study
Systems thinking Anant Kumar Department of Rural Development at Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India - 834001.Email:
[email protected] Accepted18 July 2008
STUDY Aditya and Aditi, received their medical degree from a reputed medical college in 1990 and joined the state health services same year. In service, they received various training, exposure and recognition for their commit-ment and good work. In January 2006, they were respectively posted in District X and Y as Civil Surgeon to improve the health services and access in their districts. They completed their term as Civil Surgeon of District X and Y in December 2007 and both were happy that because of their initiatives and hard work, there were positive changes in health indicators in comparison to January 2006. Dr. Aditya considers himself a very pro-active and efficient administrator. He claims that he has done excellent work in the past being Civil Surgeon of district X and praised by many for his innovative approaches in implementing government health programmes. He claims that wherever he worked, he has been proved effective and because of his initiatives, there were positive changes in health indicators of that area. Interestingly, he also feels sad that those places which were doing well under his supervision, administration and leadership are not per-forming well today. The improvement in health indicator was because of him, his initiatives, and vision to improve health situation. Dr. Aditi is happy with her work but not satisfied as she feels that there is lot that needs to be done. She feels that without an effective team, health support system and contribution of other stakeholders, it is not possible to provide effective health services to people. She, with her colleague tried to build a team, develop a shared vision, and generate support from other stakeholders to improve the health services and access while she was the Civil Surgeon of district Y. She with her team identified challenges and they developed a roadmap and strategies for strengthening health service system in the district. She is happy that district Y is performing well in leader-ship of new Civil Surgeon.
Objective Initiate directed discussion and critical thinking on leadership, systems and role of team building to ensure longer term impact.
Questions 1. Discuss the leadership style and approach used by Dr Aditya and Dr Aditi in District X and Y. Which approach is better and why? 2. Why district Y performance is better than District X in May 2008 in comparison to December 2007.
The case study can be used to study and understand the following 1. Leadership and programme impact. 2. Team building and systems approach . 3. Individual Vs. Group effort.
Kumar
Table1. Health Indicator of District X and Y
District Health Indicators Contraceptive Use (%) Institutional Delivery (%) Immunization (%) Infant Mortality Rate
X Dec 2007 32 16 21 65
Figure1. Health Indicator of District X and Y
Y May 2008 25 11 17 56
Dec 2007 29 17 24 62
May 2008 28 16 25 64
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